Hanger assembly for mounting multiple cables

ABSTRACT

A cable hanger assembly includes: a mounting substrate, the mounting substrate including a plurality of holes configured to receive clips; and a plurality of clips, each of the clips configured to receive a cable and mount in one of the plurality of holes of the mounting substrate.

RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S.patent application Ser. No. 15/856,201, filed Dec. 28, 2017, now U.S.Pat. No. 10,634,265, which claims priority from and the benefit of U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 62/447,929, filed Jan. 19, 2017, thedisclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to devices for supporting cablesand, in particular, to hangers for securing cables to supportstructures.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Cable hangers are commonly used to secure cables to structural membersof antenna towers and or along tunnel walls. Generally, each cable isattached to a structural member by cable hangers mounted atperiodically-spaced attachment points.

Antenna towers and/or tunnels may be crowded due to the large numbers ofcables required for signal-carrying. Over time, as systems are added,upgraded and/or expanded, installation of additional cables may berequired. To conserve space, it may be desirable for each set of cablehangers to secure more than a single cable. Certain cable hangers havebeen constructed to secure multiple cables; other cable hangers have astackable construction that permits multiple cable hangers to beinterlocked extending outwardly from each mounting point/structuralmember. Stacked and multiple-cable-type cable hangers significantlyincrease the number of cables mountable to a single attachment point.

One popular stackable cable hanger is discussed in U.S. Pat. No.8,191,836 to Korczak, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety. One such cable hanger, designatedbroadly at 10, is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The hanger 10 includes curvedarms 5 that extend from a flat base 6. Locking projections 7 extend fromthe free ends of the arms 5. As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, thelocking projections 7 are inserted into a reinforced hole 8 in a towerstructure 4 to mount the hanger 10 thereon. The base 6 of the hanger 10includes a reinforced hole 9 that can receive the projections of anotherhanger 10 to mount a second cable.

As can be best seen in FIG. 2, the arms 5 include arcuate sections 14that together generally define a circle within which a cable can reside.Two cantilevered tabs 12 extend radially inwardly and toward the base 6at one end of the arcuate sections 14, and two cantilevered tabs 16extend radially inwardly and toward the base 6 from the opposite ends ofthe arcuate sections 14. The cantilevered tabs 12, 16 are deployed todeflect radially outwardly when the hanger 10 receives a cable formounting; this deflection generates a radially inward force from eachtab 12, 16 that grips the jacket of the cable.

Hangers can be “stacked” onto each other by inserting the lockingprojections 7 of one hanger into the large hole 9 of the next hanger.One variety of cable hanger of this type is the SNAP-STAK® hanger,available from CommScope, Inc. (Joliet, Ill.).

The SNAP-STAK® hanger is offered in multiple sizes that correspond tothe outer diameters of different cables. This arrangement has beensuitable for use with RF coaxial cables, which tend to be manufacturedin only a few different outer diameters; however, the arrangement hasbeen less desirable for fiber optic cables, which tend to bemanufactured in a much greater variety of diameters. Moreover, fiberoptic cables tend to be much heavier than coaxial cables (sometimes asmuch as three times heavier per unit foot), which induces greater loadand stress on the hangers.

Multiple approaches to addressing this issue are offered in co-assignedand co-pending U.S. Patent Publication No. 2016/0281881 to Vaccaro, thedisclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in full.One cable hanger discussed in this publication is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4and designated broadly at 610 therein. The cable hanger 610 is somewhatsimilar to the cable hanger 10, inasmuch as it has a base 606, curvedarms 605 and locking projections 607 that resemble those of the hanger10 discussed above. However, the cable hanger 610 also has flex members618 that define chords across the arcuate sections 614 of the arms 605.As can be seen in FIG. 4, cantilevered gripping members 612, 616 extendfrom the flex members 618 and into the cable-gripping space S within thearms 605. It can also be seen in FIG. 3 that the flex members 618 aretripartite, with two vertically offset horizontal runs 618 a, 618 cmerging with the arcuate sections 614 of the arms 605 and a vertical run618 b extending between the horizontal runs 618 a, 618 c. The grippingmembers 612, 616 extend from opposite sides of the vertical run 618 band are vertically offset from each other.

In use, the cable hanger 610 is employed in the same manner as the cablehanger 10; a cable is inserted into the space S between the arms 605,which are then closed around the cable as the locking projections 607are inserted into a mounting hole. The cantilevered gripping members612, 616 can help to grip and to center the cable within the space S.The presence of the flex members 618, which are fixed end beams ratherthan cantilevered tabs, can provide additional gripping force beyondthat of the cable hanger 10.

In view of the foregoing, it may be desirable to provide additionalconfigurations of cable hangers to enable a technician to adapt todifferent cable sizes and mounting conditions.

SUMMARY

As a first aspect, embodiments of the invention are directed to a cablehanger assembly. The assembly comprises: a mounting substrate, themounting substrate including a plurality of holes configured to receiveclips; and a plurality of clips, each of the clips configured to receivea cable and mount in one of the plurality of holes of the mountingsubstrate.

In some embodiments, the cable hanger assembly is employed incombination with a plurality of cables mounted to the mountingsubstrate, wherein each of the cables is mounted with a respective oneof the plurality of clips.

As a second aspect, embodiments of the invention are directed to a cablehanger assembly comprising: a mounting substrate, the mounting substratehaving a main panel, wherein a plurality of holes configured to receiveclips are located in the main panel; and a plurality of clips, each ofthe clips configured to receive a cable and mount in one of theplurality of holes of the mounting substrate.

As a third aspect, embodiments of the invention are directed to a cablehanger assembly comprising: a mounting substrate, the mounting substrateincluding a base, a pair of arms attached to the base, and lockingfeatures attached to free ends of the arms, wherein each of the armsincludes a plurality of holes configured to receive clips; and aplurality of clips, each of the clips configured to receive a cable andmount in one of the plurality of holes of the mounting substrate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a prior art cable hanger.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the prior art cable hanger of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of another prior art cable hanger.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the cable hanger of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a mounting substrate of a cable hangerassembly according to embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 6A is a top view of a clip to be used with the cable hangerassembly of FIG. 5.

FIG. 6B is a top view of an alternative clip to be used with the cablehanger assembly of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a top view of the mounting substrate of FIG. 5 mounted on amounting structure with clips of FIG. 6A inserted therein to holdcables.

FIG. 8 is a top view of a mounting substrate of a cable hanger assemblyaccording to alternative embodiments of the invention, with clips ofFIG. 6A inserted therein to hold cables.

FIG. 9 is a side view of the mounting substrate of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a top view of two cable hanger assemblies of FIG. 8 mountedin a stacked fashion.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention is described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which certain embodiments of the invention are shown. Thisinvention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and shouldnot be construed as limited to the embodiments that are pictured anddescribed herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that thisdisclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey thescope of the invention to those skilled in the art. It will also beappreciated that the embodiments disclosed herein can be combined in anyway and/or combination to provide many additional embodiments.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms that areused in this disclosure have the same meaning as commonly understood byone of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Theterminology used in the below description is for the purpose ofdescribing particular embodiments only and is not intended to belimiting of the invention. As used in this disclosure, the singularfoul's “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms aswell, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will also beunderstood that when an element (e.g., a device, circuit, etc.) isreferred to as being “attached”, “connected” or “coupled” to anotherelement, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element orintervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element isreferred to as being “directly attached”, “directly connected” or“directly coupled” to another element, there are no intervening elementspresent.

Referring now to the drawings, a cable hanger assembly 110 according toembodiments of the invention is shown in FIGS. 5-7. The assembly 110includes a mounting substrate 120 and a plurality of clips 130. Theseare described in greater detail below.

The mounting substrate 120 includes a generally square, generally flatmain panel 122 with four side edges 123. In the main panel 122, sixteenmounting holes 124 define a 4×4 grid, although other numbers, sizes andarrangements of holes 124 may also be suitable. Locking features 126(which may take the form of the locking projections 107, 607 discussedabove) are located in the central portion of the main panel 122. Thelocking features 126 are configured to be inserted into a mounting hole(typically nominally ¾ inch in diameter) of a mounting structure such asan antenna tower or the like.

Those skilled in this art will appreciate that the mounting substrate120 discussed above is typically formed of a metallic material, such assteel, and may be formed as a monolithic member (often from a flat blankstamped from sheet steel and bent into a desired shape).

Referring now to FIG. 6A, a clip 130 is shown therein. The clip 130 isgenerally U-shaped, with two arms 131 that merge into a central base 132(as shown in FIG. 6A, the base 132 may be somewhat wider than thedistance between the arms 131). A locking feature, such as a hook 134,is located on the end of each arm 131. Gripping barbs 135 are located onthe base 132 and extend radially inwardly. (Alternatively, grippingfeatures other than barbs may be employed, such as the lances 135′ onclip 130′ shown in FIG. 6B, or ridges, edges, nubs, dimples and thelike, that enhance gripping of a cable, facilitate insertion of a cable,or both. Examples of such features are described in co-assigned andco-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/335,614, filed Oct. 27,2016, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein in itsentirety.)

Those skilled in this art will appreciate that the clips 130, 130′discussed above should be formed of a flexible, resilient material, suchas a metallic material (e.g., steel) or a polymeric material, and may beformed as a monolithic member (often from a flat blank stamped fromsheet steel and bent into a desired shape or via injection molding).

As can be seen in FIG. 7, in use the mounting substrate 120 is mountedto a mounting structure 170, such as an antenna tower, by inserting thelocking features 126 into a mounting hole 172 in the mounting structure170. The locking features 126 are deflected toward each other from arelaxed state, then inserted into the hole 172 (typically ¾ inch) in themounting structure 170 in the deflected condition. The locking features126 exert outward pressure on edges of the hole and maintain the cablehanger 110 in a mounted position on the mounting structure 170.

A cable 150 can then be mounted onto the mounting substrate 120 bycapturing the cable 150 in the base portion 132 of the clip 130 andinserting the hooks 134 of the clip 130 into one of the holes 124 in themounting substrate 120. The clips 130 extend away from the main panel122 in a direction generally opposite that of the locking features 126.The presence of the hooks 134 secures the clip 130 in place, and thebarbs 135 of the clip 130 assist in gripping the cable 150. The processcan be repeated with additional cables 150 and additional clips 130(FIG. 7 shows four cables 150 mounted on the mounting substrate 120).

Those skilled in this art will appreciate that other variations of themounting substrate 120 may also be suitable. For example, the number,size and locations of the holes 124 may vary: the holes may be single ordual slots; more or fewer holes 124 may be included; the holes 124 maybe larger or smaller, or may vary in size within the same mountingsubstrate 120; and the holes 124 may be located in different locationson the main panel 122 (for example, offset from each other) or even inthe side edges 123. The side edges 123 may be formed differently, orsome or all of the side edges 123 may be omitted entirely. The mountingsubstrate 120 not not be square, but could be rectangular, circular,oval, or a number of other shapes. Other variations are alsocontemplated.

Referring now to FIGS. 8-10, another cable hanger assembly, designatedbroadly at 210, is shown therein. The assembly 210 includes a mountingsubstrate 220 that is somewhat similar to the cable hangers 10, 610discussed above, with a base 206, arms 205 that extend from ends of thebase 206, and locking projections 207 on the arms 205. The arms 205 aretripartite, with serially merging segments 205 a, 205 b, 205 c; as canbe seen in FIG. 8, the segments 205 a and 205 c and generally parallelwith each other and perpendicular to the segment 205 b, and the lockingprojections 207 extend from segments 205 c. A mounting hole 209 ispresent in the base 206.

It can be seen in FIG. 9 that each segment 205 a of the arms 205includes three holes 212. As shown in FIG. 8, the holes 212 areconfigured to receive clips 230 similar to clips 130, 130′ discussedabove. Each of the clips 230 can capture and secure a cable 250 to themounting substrate 220. The cables 250 can either be secured within theperimeter of the mounting substrate 220 or outside of the perimeter(both are shown in FIG. 8).

Referring now to FIG. 10, it can be seen that the mounting substrates220 are “stackable.” More specifically, the locking projections 207′ ofa second mounting substrate 220′ can be inserted into the mounting hole209 of a first mounting substrate 220 that is mounted to a mountingstructure 270. Additional mounting substrates 220 can be furtherstacked. Each of the mounting substrates 220 can be used for themounting of multiple cables with clips 230.

Those skilled in this art will appreciate that other variations of themounting substrate 220 may be suitable. For example, any or all of thesegments 205 a, 205 b, 205 c of the arms 205 and/or the base 206 mayinclude curved or bent portions as desired. All of the clips 230 may beinserted internally (i.e., within the periphery of the mountingsubstrate 220) or externally (i.e., outside of the periphery of themounting substrate 220), or some clips 230 may be inserted internallyand others externally. The mounting substrate 220 may lack the mountinghole 220, in which case the mounting substrate 220 may not be stackable;in such an instance, additional holes may be present in the base 206 forthe mounting of more clips 230. Other variations may also be possible.

It should also be appreciated that different sizes of clips 130, 130′,230 may be used on the same mounting substrate 120, 220, and/ordifferent sizes of cables may be mounted to a single mounting substrate120, 220.

The foregoing is illustrative of the present invention and is not to beconstrued as limiting thereof. Although exemplary embodiments of thisinvention have been described, those skilled in the art will readilyappreciate that many modifications are possible in the exemplaryembodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings andadvantages of this invention. Accordingly, all such modifications areintended to be included within the scope of this invention as defined inthe claims. The invention is defined by the following claims, withequivalents of the claims to be included therein.

That which is claimed is:
 1. A cable hanger assembly, comprising: amounting substrate comprising a main panel, wherein a plurality of holesconfigured to receive clips are located in the main panel; and aplurality of clips, each of the clips configured to receive a cable,each of the clips mounted in one of the plurality of holes of themounting substrate; wherein the mounting substrate further compriseslocking features that enable the mounting substrate to be mounted in ahole in a mounting structure, the mounting substrate formed as amonolithic member.
 2. The cable hanger assembly defined in claim 1,wherein the plurality of holes are arranged in a grid on the main panel.3. The cable hanger assembly defined in claim 1, wherein the lockingfeatures extend generally perpendicularly away from the main panel in afirst direction, and wherein the clips are configured to mount on themain panel and extend away from the main panel in a second directionthat is generally opposite to the first direction.
 4. The cable hangerassembly defined in claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of clipsincludes a gripping feature configured to enhance grip on a cable. 5.The cable hanger assembly defined in claim 1, in combination with aplurality of cables mounted to the mounting substrate, each of thecables mounted with a respective one of the plurality of clips.
 6. Thecable hanger assembly defined in claim 5, wherein at least some of theplurality of cables have a different diameter than at least some othersof the plurality of cables.
 7. The cable hanger assembly defined inclaim 1, wherein the main panel is generally planar.
 8. A cable hangerassembly, comprising: a mounting substrate comprising a generally planarmain panel, wherein a plurality of holes configured to receive clips arelocated in the main panel; and a plurality of clips, each of the clipsconfigured to receive a cable, each of the clips mounted in one of theplurality of holes of the mounting substrate; wherein the mountingsubstrate further comprises locking features that enable the mountingsubstrate to be mounted in a hole in a mounting structure, the lockingfeatures extending generally perpendicularly away from the main panel ina first direction from a location within the plurality of holes, themounting substrate formed as a monolithic member.
 9. The cable hangerassembly defined in claim 8, wherein the plurality of holes are arrangedin a grid on the main panel.
 10. The cable hanger assembly defined inclaim 8, wherein the clips are configured to mount on the main panel andextend away from the main panel in a second direction that is generallyopposite to the first direction.
 11. The cable hanger assembly definedin claim 8, wherein each of the plurality of clips includes a grippingfeature configured to enhance grip on a cable.
 12. The cable hangerassembly defined in claim 8, in combination with a plurality of cablesmounted to the mounting substrate, each of the cables mounted with arespective one of the plurality of clips.
 13. The cable hanger assemblydefined in claim 12, wherein at least some of the plurality of cableshave a different diameter than at least some others of the plurality ofcables.
 14. A cable hanger assembly, comprising: a mounting substratecomprising a generally planar main panel, wherein a plurality of holesconfigured to receive clips are located in the main panel and arearranged in a two-dimensional grid; and a plurality of clips, each ofthe clips configured to receive a cable, each of the clips mounted inone of the plurality of holes of the mounting substrate; wherein themounting substrate further comprises locking features that enable themounting substrate to be mounted in a hole in a mounting structure, thelocking features extending generally perpendicularly away from the mainpanel in a first direction from a location within the plurality ofholes, the mounting substrate formed as a monolithic member; and whereinthe clips are configured to mount on the main panel and extend away fromthe main panel in a second direction that is generally opposite to thefirst direction.
 15. The cable hanger assembly defined in claim 14,wherein each of the plurality of clips includes a gripping featureconfigured to enhance grip on a cable.
 16. The cable hanger assemblydefined in claim 14, in combination with a plurality of cables mountedto the mounting substrate, each of the cables mounted with a respectiveone of the plurality of clips.
 17. The cable hanger assembly defined inclaim 16, wherein at least some of the plurality of cables have adifferent diameter than at least some others of the plurality of cables.